Heart of the Sword
by Wolf-Maiden Mitsuki
Summary: Rewritten. One-shot featuring Kaoru practicing her swordsmanship. Kaoru can't sleep and so she decides to practice. Kenshin asks to watch and while he does, he realizes something about Kaoru. K/K pairing.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or the characters found therein. I write for pleasure, not profit.

**Author Note:** this is one of my previous one-shots that I took down. I have since rewritten it a little and now feel much more pleased with it. I hope you guys like it. :)

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"**Heart of the Sword"**

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The night was warm, the crickets playing their songs for the moon. Most of the sliding doors and small windows of the Kamiya dojo were dark, with exception of two, both of which entered into the training hall. Inside that hall, a lone figure dressed in a faded pair of hakama and sweat-drenched gi practiced her sword strokes. The strokes were swift and sure in their intent. The figure's feet, encased as they were in their split-toe socks, barely made any sound as they slid and moved their way across the polished wood floor.

A grunt of effort escaped the set lips of the figure – an intake of breath. A diagonal cut sliced the air. The wooden sword was chambered. A grunt of effort came a second time as the sword moved horizontally in what would have been, had this been a duel to the death, a fatal disemboweling cut. The slight figure was that of Kamiya Kaoru, assistant instructor and caretaker of the dojo. Panting now, she ceased her practice long enough to catch her breath.

Thirst made the back of her throat ache and she longed to take a sip of the water she'd brought with her. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the room where she had left it and she still had half a dozen more techniques to practice before she was finished. Her father would have told her to push herself to finish. He would have told her that a strong kendo instructor would push herself until she was finished and then reward herself for her effort.

Smiling at the thought of her father, Kaoru took a deep breath and exhaled. She centered herself and bent her knees, lowering her stance. She chambered the sword, raising it high and angling it slightly left over her head. Preparing to strike out at her invisible opponent, she raised her center once more and began her movement.

"Miss Kaoru, it is late to be practicing the sword...that it is."

The voice in the semi-darkness, unexpected and quiet, caused Kaoru to falter in her strike. Nearly losing her balance, she turned to confront the person who dared interrupt her practice. Himura Kenshin – former manslayer and current ronin – stared at her from across the room. His deep blue eyes were kind.

Kaoru felt her anger melt away at the sight of him.

"I couldn't sleep," she replied briefly, wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her uniform. "Practicing eases my mind."

She watched the red-haired man walk slowly over to where she stood. Resting her wooden sword on her shoulder, she watched as the red-haired man walked slowly over to where she stood. She gave him a smile.

"What about you, Kenshin? A little late to be up spying on women, isn't it?"

"Spying?" Kenshin held up his hands in denial, shaking his head. "I promise I was not spying on you, Miss Kaoru. I admit that I saw the lamplight and wondered if you were alright."

"I'm fine." She told him. "Now please go...I want to finish practicing."

"I understand, please forgive me for interrupting you." Kenshin apologized, looking sheepish. "However, if this one may comment, your techniques have improved greatly since I first came to the dojo – but you look thirsty, that you do."

Kaoru shrugged. "I am thirsty, but that can wait until I'm finished."

A moment passed, then as though she suddenly realized something, Kaoru's eyebrows shot up into her hairline as she took his observation. Annoyance made her next words sharp.

"Wait a minute! Has gotten? What do you mean 'has gotten'. My swordsmanship was excellent even before you came here, Kenshin."

The red-haired man understood by her tone that he'd insulted her. His genuine smile from a moment earlier evaporated into one of nervousness. Unwilling to have Kaoru angry with him, he struggled to clarify what he had meant to the glaring woman in front of him.

"Of course, you misunderstand, Miss Kaoru," he said in a rush. "As unbelievable as it may seem, your skill has reach another impressive level...yes, indeed. Your swordsmanship is wonderful, that it is."

The woman seemed pleased with his answer. Instantly, her glare disappeared and again came the smile that he loved to see.

"Thank you, Kenshin, I am very pleased to hear that." She said, eyes dancing. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must finish my practice."

She turned from him then, dismissing him without another word. Returning to her place in the middle of the training area, she prepared to begin her movements once more by inhaling and exhaling slowly. Before she could begin, however, the red-haired wanderer broke the silence with a few final words.

"If it is alright, Miss Kaoru," he said politely, "I would enjoy watching the rest of your practice. Would you mind if I did that?"

Kaoru thought about saying no.

To have anyone watch her solo practice was daunting. It was a special, private time for her to search deep within herself for the Warrior Spirit her father had always taught her to seek. Since her father's death, she also saw it as a time when she could commune with his spirit – to feel his touch once again on her consciousness. To anyone else, the young woman would have said no – but this was Kenshin. If anyone was allowed to witness such a private thing, then it should be him. Along with her father, Kenshin was the most important person in her life.

"Alright, Kenshin," she said at last. "You can watch as long as you stay quiet."

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Kaoru did not answer at first...and was silent for many long moments after the words left his lips. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes regarded him with an intense, thoughtful expression. Kenshin began to wonder if he had upset her once again by asking to watch. He knew that solo practice was Kaoru's personal ritual. As a swordsman who had spilt blood and had practiced for the majority of his life, he could understand this without her ever saying a word.

In truth, he had awoke because he'd heard noises and bumping in the night and could not go back to sleep without first investigating the cause. It was a habit that he'd brought with him out of the war. But when he'd inadvertently found her practicing, he'd been stuck at how intensely focused she was while fighting her imaginary foes – or how beautiful. In the soft glow of two small lanterns, her face and skin were glistened with sweat as she feinted and lashed out with her sword. Her movements, so fluid and precise, made him feel breathless.

Had her blade been made of steel and her imaginary opponent one of flesh and blood, Kenshin felt certain that she would have won the duel. When her silence continued, he decided to apologize. He opened his mouth, but did not get the chance to speak.

"Alright Kenshin," she told him. "You can watch as long as you stay quiet."

Feeling grateful, he inclined his head in acknowledgement and settled himself down near the doorway. He would not distract her here, because not only was he out of the way, he was out of sight. Pleased at his understanding, Kaoru gave him a smile before turning and walking to the center of the training floor. Kenshin watched as she took several deep breaths to center herself. He saw the moment when she lowered her center of gravity.

The wooden sword rose above her head, curving slightly, and her elbows became crisp points in the wide sleeves of her gi. With a single downward cut, she exploded forward, breath expelled in a quiet battle cry. A feint to the right turned into a spinning diagonal attack. Light on her free, despite her obvious fatigued and thirst, her form was excellent. Pivoted on her heels, Kaoru whirled around to attack from a fresh angle. In the dim light of the training hall, Kenshin could see only her dark silhouette lit from behind now.

Lunging forward, Kaoru drove her unseen enemy backwards. As fluid as water was Kaoru, with her hakamas whispering softly across the wood floor like wind through a tree's branches. Stopping suddenly, she used the strength of her legs to propel her to the side as if avoiding a downward stroke, before flawlessly executing a 180-degree turn. From this position, Kenshin found that her eyes locked with his across the room.

His breath caught in his throat as she lunged forward, thrusting her blade towards him powerfully. At the last second, Kaoru jerked the wooden sword tip upwards from her hip until it extending beyond her shoulder. Her eyes never left his.

In his years as a manslayer during the Restoration, Kenshin had faced many enemies. He had been cold and ruthless, doing far worse to his own enemies than anything that Kaoru practiced tonight. And yet – such was the intensity of her spirit that he shivered in spite of himself. The eye contact did not waver as Kaoru flicked her wooden sword downward and to the right at a very severe angle. It was a move that Kenshin knew well.

It was a move meant to rid a live blade of an enemy's blood before returning the sword to its scabbard. Kaoru continued staring at him as she slid the sword home to her belt as if it, too, held a scabbard. Then she bowed to him and the ritual was completed. When her feet left the polished surface of the training floor, her eyes had lost their former intensity. They had become the kind, deep blue that he had grown so fond of over the last several months.

Raising an arm to her forehead, she wiped away fresh beads of sweat and let out a sigh.

"I think I take that water now," she said, walking over to sit beside him.

Kenshin moved over a bit to make more room for her before pouring some of the lukewarm water into a small cup for her. With a smile of thanks, she took the cup from his hands and threw back the liquid gratefully. Neither of them said a word as they sat beside one another in the semi-darkness. Though the silence between them was not awkward, he found he could not speak to her at the moment. She, too, seemed content to simply share his company. Staring at the gentle glow of a lantern on the other side of them room, Kenshin felt oddly aware of Kaoru at his side.

He simply could not forget the deadly look in her eyes while she practiced.

Kaoru had allowed him an intimate look into her soul – a look into who she was as a warrior. Whether she realized it or not, the beauty of her gift touched him. What he had seen was a beautiful, sacred part of the woman he had spent the last several months with – and it was a part that he recognized and respected on an entirely different level now. He had always known that Kaoru was strong, that she held the strength of convictions instilled into her since childhood – but now he knew that that strength went far deeper than mere belief in an ideal.

Kaoru had the heart of the sword...just as he did.


End file.
